All it takes to live a creative life, says Eileen Kramer, is to follow your desire. It’s just that most people don’t.
• Eileen Kramer, an Australian dancer and choreographer is still active at 104 and will be staging a theatre production in 2019.
• Butoh dancer, Kazuo Ohno performed on his 100th anniversary.
• Pandit Birju Maharaj (pictured above), the legendary Kathak dancer and teacher is still going at 81.
• Dr. Anita Ratnam, 64, tours the world with her solo dance performances.
More and more I see people defying this social conditioning that after a certain age we become ‘old’. When I look at my dad, now 74, who continues to play golf twice a week, I do not see an old man. What does old even mean? Does it mean your use is over? It’s time to be discarded? Boring? Run down?
Sure, the body changes, and we learn to move differently. But life is all about constant change. We learn to live with more self-awareness, more body management, we realize the value of nurturing & healing our body. But these are all positives.
Perhaps we can omit this word in reference to human beings. The word ‘old’ itself has become old, no longer useful and time to be discarded.
“Thankfully as we age there are more and more artists who continue to work, and I think it’s vital we celebrate that.” (Eileen Kramer, pictured below)
Joshinder Chaggar
15 April 2019